Spain lies on the Iberian Peninsula on the far southwestern edge of Europe. Occupying an area of 504,788 square kilometers, it is home to 39.2 million people. Situated at the crossroads between Europe and Africa, Spain has long been a target of invading races and civilizations. The Greeks, Carthaginians, Visigoths and Romans all invaded Spain at various times. The Moors arrived from Africa in 711 and were to occupy southern Spain for 800 years.

The country developed a huge empire in the New World in the wake of Columbus’s arrival in the Americas in 1492. Its empire stretched from Mexico and Peru to Cuba and Bolivia. Spain made the transition from dictatorship to democracy in 1975 when the right-wing dictator Franco died. The land that is now Spain and Portugal was called Iberia by Greek geographers, and Hispania and Lusitania by the Romans who left some of their most impressive architectural works. Reaching into the Atlantic like a hand, the peninsula provided the great navigators a head start in roaming the world. Sevilla was, in fact, the hub for discovery, conquest and administration of New World Spanish colonies after Granada fell to the Catholic Kings at the end of the fifteenth century.The Castile and León (Castilla y León) region is the heartland of Spain -historically, aesthetically and culturally- and is the region that shaped the nation's history. Its lofty central plains with open skies was frontier land, where castles and walled towns marked the slow push south of Christian forces in their struggle against the Moors. Spain's legendary hero, El Cid, was born here and was instrumental in the expulsion of the Moors from the region.

Catalonia (Catalunya in Catalan) offers the unusual experience of being in a country within a country. The region is intensely different from the rest of Spain and its people take pride in its unique history and language. Stretching from the Pyrenees in the north to the Costa Brava in the east, it is a large and diverse region offering a range of different holiday possibilities. Catalonia is home to the most sophisticated and stylish city in Spain – Barcelona. With a captivating old quarter, inspiring modernist architecture, world-class museums, fine restaurants and superb nightlife, it is one of the most vibrant and exciting cities in Europe.

But Andalucía fits everyone's romantic image of Spain. Reaching down from the high and forbidding plateau of Castile, across the south of Spain to the shores of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, Andalucía is the most visited of the Spanish provinces. In Andalucía there is so much color and contrast, vivaciousness, variety and imagination that fact and fiction are constantly blurred. Indeed Andalucia is spellbinding with its air perfumed by jasmine and orange blossoms, its soleful flamenco music and its thrilling bullfighting tradition. As befits a land that bewitches its visitors, Andalucía apparently traces its ancestry to the mythical kingdom of Tartessos. Greeks and Phoenicians visited the region's (Cádiz was in fact founded by the Phoenicians) while the Romans stayed for centuries becoming a jewel in the Roman imperial crown. The same occurred when the Muslim invaders established themselves first in Córdoba and then in Granada.

The glorious sunshine in which the country basks has long made it a mecca for sun seekers from chillier climates. There is far more to Spain, however, than bronzing, beer and beaches. It is soaked in the historical pageantry of empire and conquistadors and has a fantastic artistic legacy in the shape of painters like Goya, Picasso, Dali and Velazquez. Don Quijote by Cervantes is one of the world’s greatest works of fiction. The sophisticated, elegant and exciting cities of Barcelona, Sevilla and Valencia are well worth a visit.

Check our "Rhapsodies" for quick city visits' rates. Rhapsodies are 2 or 3 nights program in major cities with hotel accommodation selected by central location and value. usually, a city tour is also included. Use them as they are for a single city visit or combine them for a more complete program. To check rates, select the date of your stay from the calendar that will appear.